Foundry Field – at Southeast Community Park

A public/private initiative

Sappy Moffitt Field Foundation
South Bend Venues Parks & Arts

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The Field

Foundry Field will provide a quality public-access baseball field for children and adults in South Bend’s urban core. When completed, it will be a truly remarkable public space that adds vitality to the Southeast neighborhood and celebrates the baseball stories of our city’s marginalized communities.

PHASE ONE

a place for play

high-quality baseball field

This field will be publicly accessible and reservable through South Bend Venues Parks & Arts, with priority given to our local program partners like the Boys and Girls Club and South Bend schools.

Full-size baseball diamond with grass infield and dirt basepaths
Net and steel pole backstop system
Irrigation system
Retaining Wall Prep
Living hedge outfield fence
Dugout benches and metal fan seating
Fencing

$145k

$45k seed money, $50k campaign, $50k matching Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority grant.

CAMPAIGN COMPLETED | Fall 2022
Construction begins | June 2023
Play begins | May 2024

PHASE TWO

a place for story

historical research and public art

Baseball stories of the past that highlight underrepresented teams or players will connect the community to our past and to nationally-known mural artists.

6-public murals
Artist residency program
Community art workshops
Public art wall
Community-based historical research
Online repository of historical research
Historical markers

$250-450k

Public or private grant funding
(applications underway)

Funding applications underway
Project begins | May 2023
Project completion | May 2025

PHASE THREE

a place for community

enhanced community space

This phase will bring community-focused structures surrounding the field to expand the community experience and increase community usage of the park.

Expansion may include:

Covered vintage grandstand
Covered dugouts
Scorebooth with PA system
Expanded foul-line fencing
Public pavilion
Additional landscaping

$150-250k

Public or private funding

Campaign | TBD

foundry field at southeast neighborhood park | plan

foundry field at southeast neighborhood park | renderings

The Stories

Home of the Foundry Giants

Recovering a rich history

In the 1920s, the Studebaker industrial baseball league was at the top of the South Bend sports page, and the Foundry Giants were often at the top of the standings. The predominantly black team hailed from the Studebaker foundry and included several players who would play in the Negro Leagues. Much of the history of the Foundry Giants has been lost—although cryptic box scores remain scattered throughout the local newspaper archives.

Foundry Field is dedicated to recovering that history and honoring the Foundry Giants alongside other underrepresented baseball teams or players from South Bend’s history.

Through our collaboration with the community, our local partners, and historical researchers, we hope to gain a clearer picture of these men and women—helping to preserve their stories of courage, resilience, and determination as they navigated issues of inequality, accessibility, and representation in their time.

Our aim is to inspire the next generation to continue the fight for greater equality, access, and representation for all South Bend residents.

historical research

Foundry Field will help recover the stories of South Bend's baseball past—with a focus on telling the stories of the underrepresented. Through collaboration with the University of Notre Dame, Hesburgh Library, The Civil Rights Heritage Center, and South Bend Community Schools this portion of the Foundry Field project hopes to bring to light untold stories.

public art

Through an artist residency program, Foundry Field hopes to bring in nationally-recognized mural artists that are representative of the stories being depicted through race, ethnicity, or gender. These artists will work with the community to design and produce a series of murals that will create visible, enduring public art for the Southeast neighborhood.

arts education

Visiting and local artists will be able to utilize the public art wall for workshops, classes, and revolving exhibitions. Through the artist residency program, youth from organizations such as the Boys & Girls Club and Riley High School can learn about art and design methods, processes, and careers with hands on experiences that result in publicly visible art.

foundry field at southeast neighborhood park | mural plan

history in the outfield

A series of six murals tell the story of South Bend's underrepresented baseball teams and individuals. The wall spans left and most of centerfield at Foundry Field—ending at the High Street underpass.

a two-year project

Six 1-week artist residencies over the span of two years brings prolonged awareness to issues of equality and representation and connect South Bend youth with nationally-recognized minority artists and designers.

a gateway to understanding

The murals will be accompanied with historical markers and an online repository that will tell the story of each depicted team/individual and the context in which they played.

faqs

The vision for Foundry Field has evolved over the last three years. We've tried to work alongside the neighborhood, larger community, and our partner organizations to envision exactly what the field could become and we continue to invite input from those invested in our community. We hope these FAQs might answer some of your questions.

Won't this threaten the existing parks and leagues?

We believe Foundry Field will actually support the local leagues and fields by creating greater interest and investment in baseball. We do not plan to have programming that would conflict with existing leagues. In fact, we hope to build partnerships with local leagues to connect them to more players, resources, and the history of baseball in South Bend.

Who will use the field?

The field will be used by the Boys & Girls Club to introduce youth to the game of baseball, the South Bend Community Schools to support baseball at the middle school level, the Sappy Moffitt Baseball league for adult community baseball, and other partners that might see an opportunity for ongoing community use. When not reserved, the field will be accessible to the public.

Can I access the Field?

The Field will be publicly accessible with no locked gates. The public will also be able to reserve the field through South Bend Venues Parks and Arts—with first access given to the Boys & Girls Club, South Bend Schools, and the Sappy Moffitt Field Foundation.

Who will maintain the field?

The field will be a public park, maintained by the South Bend Venues Parks and Arts. In addition, the Sappy Moffitt Field Foundation is committed to providing supplemental field care to help keep Foundry Field in top shape for the community.

Why is there a range in your budgets?

Flexible budgets allow us to expand or contract our project depending on the support we receive from grants, foundations, or corporations. Our hope is to build out the park at its full budget, but intend to move forward when we have sufficient funds to get each phase started.

What teams or players will be depicted on the wall?

Right now we know the field will center on the Foundry Giants, but have been actively discovering and researching additional histories like Uncle Bill’s All-Colored Girls Softball team, a Potawatomi baseball team, and Charles Thomas—who inspired the integration of professional baseball here in South Bend. As we discover these stories we will select some to be represented on murals others will be included through historical markers or online histories.

How do I learn more about the Foundry Giants?

We are actively researching the Foundry Giants through our research partners and hope to share their stories and the stories of other teams, as we gather them.

increasing interest in baseball

We hope Foundry Field will foster more interest in baseball through programming, history, art, and public access.

increasing access to baseball

Through our partnership with the Boys & Girls Club and South Bend Community Schools, we believe Foundry Field will introduce baseball to more youth and keep them playing longer.

increasing support for baseball

We hope to support existing community baseball leagues by directing interested youth to their local league and partnering to raise visibility and access to baseball—working together to develop the next generation of citizens and leaders.

The Partnership

Partnering for a more connected and inclusive community

a broad community partnership

Foundry Field was first envisioned by the Sappy Moffitt Field Foundation. We are a 501c3 non-profit organization that seeks to build a high-quality baseball field at Southeast Park to aid the revitalization of the Southeast Neighborhood, preserve and promote the history of baseball in South Bend, and serve the youth of neighborhood communities by making the facility available to them.

Venues Parks & Arts inspires a more livable South Bend for all, connecting us to emotionally engaging experiences and to one another. VPA is a nationally accredited parks and recreation agency with the Commission for Accreditation of Parks and Recreation Agencies, member of the International Association of Venue Managers, and a proud finalist for the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration (AAPRA)’s 2021 National Gold Medal Awards for Excellence in Park and Recreation Management.

programming partners

South Bend Community School Corporation

Boys & Girls Club of St. Joseph County

research and planning partners

Center for Social Concerns

Southeast Organized Area Residents

Civil Rights Heritage Center

The History Museum

contributors

Buccellato design & architecture

Clinton Carlson Design

Support

We invite you to be a part of this exciting campaign now by making a charitable gift. Your generosity will help to create an exceptional space that will both celebrate and revitalize the community! Thank you also for helping to spread the word on social media!

support foundry field

Donate

If you prefer to give offline by cash or check please mail or drop donations to:

Sappy Moffitt Field Foundation
c/o Sean Kennedy
711 E. Colfax Ave.
South Bend, IN 46617.

The Sappy Moffitt Field Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization and donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law.

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